Knife and large piece of wood used during violent fight outside Swansea takeaway

A group of men were involved in violent disorder outside a takeaway, a court has heard. A knife and a large piece of wood were used during the incident which resulted in serious injuries and in two people being hospitalised. The violence was sparked when a delivery driver was confronted at traffic lights, though the cause of the dispute has never been revealed. Four men have now been locked up for their parts in the disturbance. Swansea Crown Court heard that on the night of September 24 last year violence erupted outside a takeaway in St Helen's Road in Swansea city centre involving Mohammed Uddin, Mahfuz Uddin, Mohabat Adreemzai, and Yasir Aryan during which weapons were brandished and used. The disturbance followed an incident a short time before when delivery driver Mahfuz Uddin was confronted at traffic lights by two men in another car - Mohabat Adreemzai, and Yasir Aryan. Uddin returned to the takeaway and went into the shop where he armed himself with a knife. Mohammed Uddin - who had been preparing food to be delivered - then became involved. Two people were taken to hospital with stab wounds following the disorder, and there was a large police presence in the area with police urging people to avoid the affected stretch of St Helen's Road. Mohammed Uddin, 26, Gors Avenue, Townhill, Swansea ; Mohabat Adreemzai, 20, of Rectory Way, Barry ; Yasir Aryan, 19, of St Helen's Avenue, Brynmill, Swansea; and 24-year-old Mahfuz Uddin, Furnace Way, Waun Wen, Swansea, had all previously been convicted of violent disorder when they appeared in the dock for sentencing. Mahfuz Uddin and Adreemzai had also been convicted of possession of a bladed article, while Aryan had been convicted of possession of an offensive weapon. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter At the time of the incident Adreemzai was subject to a community order imposed at Cardiff Magistrates' Court while Mohammed Uddin was out of prison on licence following a conviction from Swansea Crown Court in 2024 for being concerned in the supply of cocaine. That conviction followed a police investigation into an organised crime group which showed Uddin was a "large-scale customer" of the OCG. Ian Ibrahim, for Mohammed Uddin, said his client was not usually a violent individual but became involved in the incident after seeing his cousin being attacked with a large piece of wood. He said the defendant disarmed the assailant and was stabbed twice in the back during the disorder but said his intervention likely saved his cousin from more serious injuries. The barrister said the defendant had been running a successful food business at the time - a position which was still available to him - and had been packing deliveries into a vehicle outside the shop when "trouble arrived at his door". He said following his arrest Uddin had been recalled back to prison on his 2024 drug supply sentence. Ieuan Rees, for Adreemzai, said his client had not taken the knife to the incident but said it was accepted that during the disturbance he disarmed another participant and subsequently used the weapon. He said the defendant arrived in the UK in 2022 and had no family support in the country. Kevin Seal, for Mahfuz Uddin, said after being released from his last custodial sentence the defendant left London for south Wales with a view to making a "fresh start" in life but subsequently became involved in the offending before the court. He said the defendant had initially got out of his car at the traffic lights "intent on persuading the others to stop harassing him" but said it had to be accepted that when the men got to the takeaway on St Helen's Road "things took a different turn". Emily Bennett, for Aryan, said the defendant had left his parents and six younger siblings behind in Afghanistan and came to the UK as a 16-year-old "trying to make a better life", and said he has full refugee status. She said a pre-sentence report detailed how "in the heat of the moment" her client became involved in the violence after seeing his friend being stabbed rather than reacting by calling the police. Judge Catherine Richards said the violence on St Helen's Road had been preceded by an incident in which Mahfuz Uddin was confronted by Mohabat Adreemzai and then Yasir Aryan while making deliveries in a vehicle, though she said the cause of that first incident had never been established. The judge said when Uddin made his way back to the takeaway he was followed by Adreemzai before going into the premises and arming himself with a knife. The judge from there significant violence developed in which all four defendants had played their part. Mohammed Uddin was sentenced to 24 months in prison, Mahfuz Uddin to 39 months in prison, Mohabat Adreemzai to 36 months detention in a young offenders institution, and Yasir Aryan to 21 months detention. They will serve 40 per cent of their sentences in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.